Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights Reintroduced in the U.S. House

Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights Reintroduced in the U.S. House

NAAOP

3/4/2011

Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights Reintroduced in the U.S. House

VA Bill of Rights Reintroduced: On February 16, 2011, Congressman Bob Filner
(D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, reintroduced
the bipartisan Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights in the U.S. House
of Representatives. The new bill number is H.R. 805 and the bill was
referred to the Veterans Affairs Committee, now chaired by Congressman Jeff
Miller (R-FL).

H.R. 805 is identical to H.R. 5428, the same bill passed by the House in
December 2010. Unfortunately, time ran out on the 111th Congress, resulting
in the Senate not having time to act on the legislation. However, with the
reintroduction of the bill so early in the 112th Congress, Congressman
Filner has signaled his strong interest in moving this legislation as soon
as possible. In addition, the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights
continues to have significant bipartisan support in the 112th Congress.

What the Bill Does: H.R. 805 would require the Department of Veterans
Affairs to post a list of rights that apply to every veteran in need of
orthotic and prosthetic care. The list would be posted in every VA O&P
clinic across the country as well as on the VA website. The list of rights
would be codified in statute and would include the right to appropriate O&P
technology, the right to a private practitioner of choice, the right to have
the VA provide a second opinion as to prosthetic care options, and the right
for a veteran to have a function spare prosthesis or orthosis, to name a
few.

Meeting with Congressman Filner and VA Officials: On Tuesday of this week,
Tom Guth, C.P.O., NAAOP President, George Breece, Executive Director, and
Peter Thomas, General Counsel, met with Congressman Filner in his House
office along with several officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Included in the meeting were Fred Downs, who headed the VA's Prosthetic and
Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) for nearly 30 years, as well as the current
Acting Director of the PSAS, Lucielle Beck, M.D., Ph.D. The meeting was
intended to be a constructive dialogue to explore the concerns of the VA
with this legislation and to attempt to convince the VA to either support
the bill or to offer specific amendments to the legislative language that
would prompt them to ultimately support it.

Unfortunately, after some initial dialogue, it was clear there would be no
meeting of the minds. The meeting ended without any agreements but with a
renewed enthusiasm from Ranking Member Filner to proceed with his
legislation. NAAOP representatives had an opportunity to speak with the VA
officials after the meeting and agreed to continue a constructive dialogue
on the importance of the issues contained in the VA Bill of Rights, on
behalf on injured and amputee veterans.

Meeting with Republican Staff for House VA Committee: NAAOP then met with
senior Republican staff for Chairman Miller to make our case for movement of
this legislation in the 112th Congress. We were gratified to hear that
Republican staff believes the issues involving O&P treatment of injured and
amputee veterans are a priority of theirs as well, and that they intend to
address these issues in some manner this year. NAAOP made the case that H.R.
805 may not address all the concerns in this area, but was a significant
advance forward and should be passed by the House expeditiously. Republican
staff assured NAAOP they were focusing on this area, would be pursuing
additional issues of concern, and would give the VA Bill of Rights every
consideration.

VA Committee Report Issued on H.R. 5428: Also this week, the House VA
Committee released the written report on a VA hearing held in September 2010
where the VA Bill of Rights was considered. A number of Veteran Service
Organizations (VSO's such as the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the
Wounded Warrior Project) stated their position on the bill. Most of these
organizations support the legislation but some urged Congress to go further
in expanding a Bill of Rights to all veterans, or including services other
than O&P. NAAOP will be meeting with these groups again over the coming
months to attempt to build greater support for H.R. 805 in the 112th
Congress.

NAAOP Meets with Senate VA Committee: Following the House meetings, NAAOP
representatives met with the Senate Democratic staff of new Veterans Affairs
Committee Chairwoman, Patty Murray (D-WA). Senior health staff on the VA
Committee are very familiar with this bill at this point for two reasons.
First, the bill has now been introduced three times in four years, in the
110th, 111th, and 112th Congresses. Second, this bill passed the House last
December, which elevates the bill to a new level of stature. With thousands
of bills introduced each year and with a very small percentage actually
being passed by either the House or Senate, passage of a bill, even if it is
not ultimately enacted, brings credibility to the legislation. This was
evident in our meeting with the Senate VA Committee.

Senate staff pledged to further analyze the legislation and provide any
comment on the substance of the bill early this year. NAAOP's strategy is to
press for a vote in the House and then work with the Senate to have the bill
attached to a larger piece of VA legislation later this year. NAAOP does not
intend to have a separate Senate bill introduced. However, it is very
important to build support in the Senate, particularly with members of the
Senate VA Committee.

NAAOP will continue to keep you informed on this issue as developments
occur. Thank you for your continued support of our efforts and the O&P
profession.
Please visit our website at: www.naaop.org

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